China deliberates draft amendment to Anti-monopoly Law

A draft amendment to the Anti-monopoly Law was submitted on Tuesday to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, for the first reading.

The draft amendment clarifies the basic position of competition policy and the legal status of the fair-competition review system.

Fair-competition review shall be conducted when rules involving the economic activities of market entities are made, according to the draft amendment.

It stipulates that business operators shall not exclude or limit competition by abusing data, algorithms, technology, capital advantages as well as platform rules, among others.

It also stipulates that the anti-monopoly law enforcement departments of the State Council shall strengthen the review of business operators in fields including people's livelihood, finance, science, technology and media.

The draft amendment further strengthens the support for anti-monopoly law enforcement, stipulating that law enforcement departments can hold talks with business operators or organizations suspected of illegal acts and demand overhaul.

It also substantially raises the amount of fines for relevant illegal acts and increases provisions on punishment of people responsible for monopoly.